Local Concert Preview for Chicago / Milwaukee:
July 1-11, 2009

Bob Dylan could perform in whatever towns and venues he chooses. Most artists
in his position routinely would hit the largest markets, while ignoring the rest
of the country. It is refreshing, then, that Dylan has begun a summer tradition
of staging concerts in America’s minor league ballparks. Just days before he
hits the road with Willie Nelson and
John Mellencamp for this year’s trek, he
and Nelson will warm up their backing bands at the Marcus Amphitheatre as part
of Milwaukee’s Summerfest. This past spring, right before his European tour came
to an end, Dylan revealed If You Ever Go to Houston, the first of what
likely will be many songs from his latest endeavor Together through Life
to find their way into his concerts. Dylan is always a potent force, of course,
but when he’s armed with a fresh batch of material, he tends to be at his best.
Nelson, on the other hand, likes to rely heavily on the same collection of
crowd-pleasing standards from his back catalogue. Miraculously, though, he and
his supporting cast manage to keep them sounding loose and fresh.

7/1 - Femi Kuti / King Sunny Ade - Ravinia - Highland Park - 7:30 p

Now that a new crop of artists is drawing worldwide attention to the African
music scene, it is as good a time as any for the continent’s superstars to spend
their summer on American soil. Since stepping out on his own in the mid-1980s,
Femi Kuti has been fighting to reach a younger generation by making his father
Fela’s legendary music more accessible. Not only has he toured with Jane’s Addiction, but he also has recorded with both Common and Mos Def. Yet, he often
has seemed to be trying too hard to achieve his goals. On his latest set Day
by Day, Kuti continues to bend Western styles around his Afro-Beat-inspired
fare, but the results unfold far more naturally than they have in the past. On
the other hand, although King Sunny Ade found his groove a long time ago, he,
for a variety of reasons, rarely crafts new albums. His most recent effort Seven Degrees North is nine-years-old, and in the wake of V2’s dissolution,
it has become increasingly hard to find. Fortunately, the outing recently was
reissued, thus providing the impetus for Ade’s latest round of tour dates,
during which he will be supported by an enormous outfit that rivals the size of
The Polyphonic Spree.

WXRT has a long tradition of assembling a blockbuster line-up for Taste of
Chicago’s free 4th of July concert. This year is no exception. The
intriguing three-act event will feature veteran blues man Buddy Guy, alt-pop
outfit Guster, and Stax legend Booker T. Jones, who will be accompanied by
Drive-By Truckers. With his latest set Skin Deep, Guy extended his string
of inspired recordings, which arguably are among the finest outings of his
career. Though the effort is littered with special guests, Guy undeniably is its
star. Once again, his sharp-edged guitar solos evoke the danger of the urban
jungle from which they emerged. Drive-By Truckers also can pack quite a punch,
and in a reprise of the role it played in crafting Booker T.’s new outing
Potato Hole, the group likely will find ways of further enlivening his
material. Considering the shimmering melodies of its most recent affair
Ganging Up on the Sun, Guster’s presence on this bill might seem odd, but
the contrasting textures provided by the quartet ultimately will bolster the
entirety of the day’s festivities.

Most of the best moments on Fountains of Wayne’s latest outing No Better Place: Live in Chicago occur during the set’s bonus material. Setting up
shop for an acoustic performance, the band purposefully charts its musical
growth by placing a direct emphasis upon its lyrics, melodies, and newfound
maturity. Whether this approach will have the same effect over the course of an
entire concert — one that mixes sharply written songs from Traffic and Weather with a batch of inferior selections from the group’s earlier
endeavors — remains to be seen. At the very least, the show’s format will give
Fountains of Wayne a unique opportunity to reinvent and revitalize its back
catalogue. Even better, the outfit is unveiling freshly penned material from an
album it hopes to complete in the not-too-distant future.